1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to input devices for computer systems, and more particularly to an input device that is held by a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a trend to transition the personal computer from a work environment to an entertainment environment. As part of the trend, alternative input devices are being evaluated. The alternative input devices are geared toward a “living room interface” focusing more on entertainment rather than a work environment. For example, gloves that capture hand motions have been evaluated for virtual reality, telerobotics, medicine, video games, music generation, etc. applications.
One of the shortcomings with the gloves is that manufacturers are finding that consumers do not like to wear a glove for entertainment applications. The gloves require the user to constantly remove the gloves and put the gloves back on, especially if the user is moving between multiple applications. For example, where the user may have to perform typing or some other function requiring a sense of feeling in the hands, consumers tend to remove the gloves. In addition, the data glove hinders the movement of the hand and has substantial weight. Thus, gloves have not been embraced by users for entertainment applications.
Another solution being offered as an alternative input device is computer vision systems. However, computer vision systems are limited in their applications for the entertainment environment. Computer vision systems do not provide for tactile feedback and are limited by lighting conditions. Furthermore, computer vision systems have the problem of “address”, i.e., the question of whether the gesture is intended for the computer. Also, parameters are inferred and hence are potentially inaccurate. In addition, the input device must be within view of a camera. Still another disadvantage of computer vision systems is that some gestures are self-occluding and are difficult to interpret.
Thus, there is a need to solve the problems of the prior art to provide an input device convenient for a user to use that provides tactile/haptic feedback and does not have to be worn by a user.